


Abby

by brooklyn09



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Baby Animals, Caretaking, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 12:24:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14934231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brooklyn09/pseuds/brooklyn09
Summary: Greg finds a visitor in their backyard. Will Mycroft let him keep it?





	Abby

**Author's Note:**

> From a prompt at @givethispromptatry on Tumblr: “How do you plan on dealing with this?!”

Ah, Spring. Greg’s favorite season of the year. He liked the re-birth of nature - the grass growing, flowers blooming and leaves budding from the trees. One of his favorite past-times was taking care of the small courtyard behind the home he shared with Mycroft. It wasn’t a large space - small yard, a few flower beds, a garden for vegetables and an outside kitchen with a grill, table and chairs for the occasional meal outside. But it was a good size for him to take care of without having to hire landscaping help. 

Greg had been outside most of the day, sprucing up the yard from its winter doldrums when he came upon a pile of grasses and leaf debris in the back corner. Greg pulled away some of the grass and saw a furry little creature hidden there. It was black and white, with long white ears, beady little eyes and a twitching pink nose. A bunny! And not just any wild bunny. This appeared to be a domesticated rabbit.

“Well, now, what do we have here?” asked Greg as he reached down to pick up the rabbit. The bunny sat contentedly in Greg’s arms, burrowing it’s nose in the crook of Greg’s elbow. “Are you lost? Is someone missing you?” He hadn’t heard any of their neighbors mention having a pet rabbit. He stroked the fine fur from head to tail, then gathered it in his arms, lifting it for a closer look. 

“Oh my,” Greg exclaimed after noticing the distinct bulge in the rabbit’s abdomen. You’re a girl, aren’t you? And some little scamp from the neighborhood knocked you up, didn’t they? Well don’t you worry about a thing. You can have your babies here, and we’ll take it from there.“ Now, he hoped, Mycroft would agree. 

XXXXX

Fortunately, Mycroft was out of town for a few days for diplomatic talks in Germany. That would give Greg the chance to get things set up for the rabbit. Once Mycroft saw that Greg had everything under control, he couldn’t say no, could he?

Greg did a little research on the internet as to what was needed to take care of a rabbit and went to do a little shopping. He returned home with a rabbit hutch, a collapsible fence to put around the hutch that would give ‘Abby’ some play space, a litter box, hay and food pellets. He put some hay in the hutch so she could have a little nesting space when the time came to give birth. His research told him that gestation for a rabbit lasted about 31 days, she could have one to twelve kits (please let it be closer to one, Greg prayed), and they could be weaned from her in 6-8 weeks. So yeah, he’d only have to convince Mycroft to be inconvenienced for 8 weeks, maximum. Shouldn’t be a problem, Greg hoped. From her bloated size, it looked like Abby could give birth any day. 

Greg retrieved Abby from her spot in the yard that he had cordoned off with waste bins and brought her inside to introduce her to her new home. He had set up her hutch in an unused closet on the first floor. She took to her new digs immediately, sniffing around the pen, checking out the hutch, drinking some water, and finally creating a little nest for herself in the hutch, where she promptly went to sleep. Greg watched her for a time, feeling utter contentment. He loved animals and had a few as a kid, but hadn’t had a pet in a long time. His ex-wife claimed to be allergic to all animals, which he highly doubted but it wasn’t worth the fight. And he and Mycroft were so busy all the time, he just never really gave it a thought. Even if Mycroft was against having a pet permanently, Greg thought he could at least persuade his husband to let Abby stay until after the kits were weaned, then Greg would find homes for them. 

When Mycroft came home from his trip two days later, Abby still had not given birth, but she was close to popping. Mycroft was not happy when Greg told him about their house guest. 

"How do you plan on dealing with this?!” asked Mycroft, staring at the creature that had taken up residence in the closet. 

“I’ve got it all planned out, love. I know what I’m doing. ” And Greg proceeded to tell Mycroft everything he didn’t wish to know about the reproductive and baby rearing habits of rabbits. At the end of Greg’s presentation, which he obviously put a lot of thought into, Mycroft reluctantly agreed to provide a temporary home for “Duchess Abby”. The 'duchess’ being a nod to how Greg seemed to be treating the varmint like royalty, with her fancy hutch, and jewel studded collar with a bell. Mycroft asked Greg what the collar was for.

“So we can hear her if we lose sight of her.”

“And why, praytell, would we lose sight of her when she’s in this closet?” asked Mycroft suspiciously. 

“Well, she needs her exercise Myc. She can’t stay cooped up in this closet all day, can she?”

Mycroft closed his eyes, pinched his nose and prayed for strength. “Fine. But you watch her!” he said as he turned tail and left. Greg chuckled as he heard his lover mutter about “mess” and “disease” and “smell” as he walked away. Better invest in some air fresheners, Greg thought. 

XXXX

Abby ended up delivering her kits three days later. Five perfect, little blobs of bunny. Abby was a good mother, nursing and cleaning her babies throughout the day. Greg let her out of the closet several times a day to exercise and to get a break from her needy kits. On one of her excursions, Greg got distracted and twenty minutes later found Abby chewing on an oriental rug in the sitting room. Mycroft was going to have a fit! He loved that rug. Greg gathered Abby up into his arms, put her back in her pen, and went to do a little furniture rearranging in the sitting room. Greg was able to cover up the damaged area with a chair; Mycroft would be none the wiser. 

XXXX

Over the next few weeks the kits grew like weeds. Greg was surprised when one day, he came upon Mycroft sitting in the closet doorway, holding the two smallest kits. He was murmuring softly to them, petting their silky fur. Greg knew his husband was a softie deep down. Ice man my ass, Greg thought. He turned and quietly left Mycroft alone with his new friends. 

XXXX

Eventually the time came for the kits to be weaned from their mother. Greg had found five co-workers who were looking for pets for their kids. That just left Abby. He hadn’t been able to find anyone to take her. Mycroft had heard him on the phone, trying to cajole his sister into taking the rabbit for his nieces. But they already had three cats, and she thought they already had enough chaos in their home. Mycroft took pity on Greg. He was obviously attached to the animal. And she really wasn’t difficult to take care of. Greg did most of the work. Mycroft agreed that they could keep her on one condition.

“Anything!” beamed Greg. 

“You need to get her spayed. Rabbits are prolific breeders, and if she gets outside, I don’t want her knocked up by the local rogue. One set of bunnies was enough.”

“Agreed,” said Greg, giving his husband a big hug. “I’ll call the vet and make the appointment right now. Thanks love, you won’t regret it! ” yelled Greg as he went searching for his phone. 

Mycroft retired to the sitting room to continue a book he had started earlier in the week. As he sat down in his favorite chair, the bookmark holding his place drifted to the ground. Bending over to retrieve it he saw his rug, a souvenir from his trip to southeast Asia, had been…..chewed on??? Abby!! 

“GREG!!!!!!!”


End file.
